Electrochemical Corrosion and Impedance Studies of Porous Ti–xNb–Ag Alloy in Physiological Solution

Abstract

Porous titanium (Ti) and its alloys are promising materials for orthopedic applications due to their low elastic modulus, high strength, excellent corrosion resistance, and biocompatibility. In this study, the porous Ti–xNb–5Ag (x = 25, 30 and 35 wt%) alloys were synthesized using the powder metallurgy approach. The effects of Nb content on the porosity, mechanical properties, and electrochemical corrosion behavior of the alloys were investigated. XRD analysis revealed that the porous alloys mainly consist of α-Ti, β-Ti, intermetallic compound (Ti4Nb), and oxides of TiO2 and NbO phases. Porous alloys possess the porosity ranging from 57 to 65%, due to the addition of NH4HCO3 (45 wt%). Increase in Nb content lead to a reduction in the elastic modulus and compression strengths of the sintered porous Ti–xNb–5Ag alloys. All three developed porous Ti–xNb–5Ag alloys show the optimum combination of elastic modulus and compression strength, which is suitable for orthopedic applications. These porous alloys exhibit excellent electrochemical corrosion resistance in the simulated body fluids, and the samples having low porosity exhibit higher corrosion resistance than high-porosity samples.